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3232117682944The Complete Guide To Building Lightroom Previewshttps://www.creative-photographer.com/complete-guide-lightroom-previews/
https://www.creative-photographer.com/complete-guide-lightroom-previews/#respondTue, 14 Aug 2018 18:35:20 +0000https://www.creative-photographer.com/?p=6090Do you know how many types of Preview there are in Lightroom? The answer is six – and they’re all ...

Why does Lightroom use Previews?

Lightroom is a Preview based application – no matter which module you’re using, you’re always viewing Previews of photos rather than the photos themselves. But why is that?

The answer is that Lightroom uses parametric image editing (or developing in Lightroom language). This is where the application creates instructions for editing an image, rather than adjusting the photo’s pixels. Lightroom saves the instructions in its database (the Catalog) in the form of text commands that look something like this:

Types of Lightroom Preview

It’s important to understand the differences between the six types of Lightroom Preview as the way you use them (by telling Lightroom which ones to build) makes a big difference to Lightroom’s speed and efficiency. You need to build the right Previews if you want Lightroom to run at optimal speed. Let’s see how to do that.

Building Previews during import

You can select which types of Preview you want Lightroom to build when you import your photos into Lightroom. You can also build Standard, 1:1 and Smart Previews at any time in the Library module.

The important thing to bear in mind that all of these Previews (with one exception) are used in the Library module (and by extension the Book, Print, Web modules etc.) but not the Develop module, which uses its own type of Preview.

The one exception is Smart Previews, which are used by both the Library and Develop modules under certain conditions.

1. Minimal Previews

These are the smallest Previews possible. Minimal Previews save space and time but aren’t much good for viewing photos as they are so small. The only reason for using Minimal Previews is because you want to import your photos as quickly as possible.

2. Embedded & Sidecar Previews (Lightroom Classic CC only)

This option tells Lightroom to use the JPEG Preview built into the Raw file, if it exists. It uses the same Preview technology used by applications like Photo Mechanic and is only available in Lightroom Classc CC.

Choose this option if you want the fastest import possible that gives you a Preview that’s good enough to view in the Library module.

3. Standard Previews

Standard Previews let you view photos in Loupe View, but are not large enough for you to zoom in to examine fine details or focusing accuracy.

It takes longer to build Standard Previews, but they are more accurate than Minimal or Embedded & Sidecar Previews.

You can set the size of standard Previews in the Catalog Settings. The best option to pick is Auto as it tells Lightroom to build Previews that match your monitor’s resolution.

Note: Neither Minimal or Embedded & Sidecar Previews are as accurate as Standard Previews. If you select either option during import Lightroom automatically builds Standard Previews afterwards. This can slow Lightroom down, so for that reason you should only select Minimal or Embedded & Sidecar Previews when you need to import your photos quickly.

4. 1:1 Previews

The best quality Previews of all are 1:1, but they takes longest to build. This are full-size Previews that let you zoom into your photos at 100% when looking at them in Loupe view. With 1:1 Previews there is no delay when you zoom into a photo.

1:1 Previews are larger than Standard Previews and take up a lot of hard drive space. Lightroom handles that by discarding 1:1 Previews after a set amount of time. The default is 30 days, but you can change that in the Catalog settings if you need to.

5. Smart Previews

Smart Previews enable photographers to view and develop photos without access to the original photo files. If you’re a Lightroom CC subscriber you also use them to synchronize with Lightroom CC and Lightroom CC for web.

Earlier I said that Smart Previews are both highly compressed and high-quality. This sounds like a contradiction but it’s true – you can’t tell a Smart Preview apart from a full-size Preview in terms of image quality. The only difference is that a Smart Preview is smaller.

Note: You can build Standard, 1:1, or Smart Previews at any time in the Library module by selecting the images and going to Library > Previews and selecting the Preview type required. The option to build Minimal or Embedded & Sidecar Previews only appears in the Import window.

6. Develop module Previews

When you switch from the Library module to the Develop module the Preview Lightroom uses to display your photos changes. Lightroom renders high-quality Previews that let you see the result of actions like adding sharpening, applying noise reduction, and retouching images.

These Previews are cached rather than saved in a Preview file, otherwise, they would rapidly eat up most of your hard drive space.

Creating 1:1 Previews in the Library module makes no difference to the speed at which Lightroom renders Previews in the Develop module. But if a Smart Preview exists for the photo Lightroom uses the Smart Preview instead of rendering a Develop module Preview under one of two conditions.

a. The hard drive containing the original photo file is disconnected from the computer.

b. You have Lightroom CC 2015.7 or Lightroom 6.7 or later, the hard drive containing the original photo file is connected to the computer, and you have the Use Smart Previews instead of Original for image editing preference enabled in Preferences (see below).

Note that if you zoom into 1:1 Lightroom stops using the Smart Preview and renders a full-size Preview instead.

As Smart Previews are smaller than full-size Previews they enable Lightroom’s Develop module to run much faster.

The simple approach to Lightroom Previews

Lightroom Previews are somewhat confusing, especially for beginners. This is hardly surprising considering there are six types! So let’s keep things simple. These are my recommended Previews to use.

When you import images into Lightroom, choose either Standard or 1:1 Previews. If you intend to zoom into your images while viewing them in Loupe view, you definitely want to pick 1:1 Previews. Otherwise, pick Standard.

If you’re a Lightroom CC subscriber and you want to view the images in Lightroom mobile or Lightroom web then tick the Build Smart Previews box. Do the same if you intend to use Smart Previews in the Develop module.

To help you out I’ve broken the Library module down into twelve key areas that you need to learn. Master these skills and you’ll be well on the way to becoming a Library module ninja and Lightroom expert.

But more importantly you’ll also have the peace of mind of knowing that your Catalog and photo files are safely backed up.

You can treat this as a kind of checklist. I’ve linked to more detailed articles throughout so you can explore each point in more depth.

Ready? Let’s start with one of the most important things of all – backing up your Catalog.

Key skill #1. You need to know where your Catalog is and how to back it up

Your Lightroom Catalog is essential because it’s where Lightroom stores every piece of information it has about your photos. Not only does this include the location of your photos (i.e., where they are saved on your hard drive) but any metadata associated with them (from camera settings to keywords), Lightroom specific information (such as which Collections a photo belongs to) and any edits you have made in the Develop module.

It’s safe to say that it would be a disaster to lose all this data. That’s why knowing how to back up your Catalog is an essential Lightroom skill.

Key skill #2. You also need to know how to back up your photos

Backing up your photos is probably even more important than backing up your Catalog. No amount of Lightroom expertise will be of use to you if you lose your photos through hard drive failure or some other unfortunate event.

You need to understand that your photos are not stored inside Lightroom, or in the Catalog. Your photos are saved on your hard drive (or drives) and you need to back them up yourself.

The bottom line is that backing up your photos is your responsibility – Lightroom doesn’t do it for you.

Key skill #3. Know why it’s best to use a single Catalog (most of the time)

The key thing you need to understand here is that Lightroom only lets you open one Catalog at a time. As the purpose of the Library module is to organize and search your photos, it makes sense to keep all your photos in the same Catalog.

For example, let’s say you were in the habit of creating a new Catalog each year. If you visited New York City once a year, you would never be able to view all those photos together. You could never compare a photo taken in New York city in 2008 with, say, one taken in 2018.

This would obviously be a major inconvenience and illustrates why using multiple Catalogs is impractical for most photographers.

There are times when it’s useful to have more than one Catalog, but this mainly applies to pro photographers who shoot high volumes of photos.

For example, some wedding photographers create a new Catalog for each wedding. That’s partly because they may shoot a large number of photos, and partly because they can archive the Catalog along with the photos files once the job is done.

Note: Earlier versions of Lightroom slowed down as the number of photos in the Catalog grew, but that’s no longer an issue. According to Adobe, you can add over a million photos to your Lightroom Catalog without affecting its performance. That should be more than enough for most photographers!

Key skill #4. Know how to import photos into Lightroom

It’s important to understand the import process to ensure that your photos are added to the Lightroom Catalog correctly. Get it right and you’ll enjoy the peace of mind that comes from know exactly where your photos are and how to find them.

But get it wrong and you’ll be forever wondering where your photos are, whether they are safe and whether you’ve accidentally deleted or moved any.

Key skill #5. Know how to export photos

At some point you need to know how to turn your Raw files into JPEG files to upload to Facebook, Flickr or even your own website. You also need to know how to send your photos to Photoshop or plugins like Silver Efex Pro.

Lightroom has a number of ways you can export photos, and it’s important to know which is the most appropriate to use for a give situation.

Note: You can learn more about exporting photos in my new ebook Lightroom Secrets which will be published next week.

Key skill #6. Know which previews you should build

The preview settings are important because building the right previews helps you strike a balance between optimizing Lightroom’s performance speed, and using hard drive space. Build too many 1:1 previews, for example, and they might take up so much hard drive space that the speed your computer works at drops significantly, more than nullifying any speed gain from creating the previews.

This is not compulsory – there are plenty of photographers who aren’t comfortable converting their Raw files to DNG. But you at least need to know enough about the topic to make an informed decision about whether you’re going to do it.

Keep an open mind about using DNG because there are two big benefits. The first is that DNG files are ten to twenty percent smaller than your regular Raw files, which saves hard drive space.

The other is that using DNG files helps Lightroom’s Develop module run more quickly. DNG files contain a preview in a form called fast load data that enables Lightroom render Develop module previews up to eight times faster.

If you’re unsure about DNG Lightroom gives you the option to make a copy of your Raw files in their original format when you import them.

Collections are virtual Folders, which you use to organize your images. Folders are limited because a single photo can only be stored in one Folder at a time. The same photo can be stored in as many Collections as you like, making Collections the easiest, and most flexible, way to organize your photos.

The bottom line is that Collections allow you to organize your photos in the way that suits you best, without the physical restrictions imposed Folders. Collections are a key feature that make Lightroom a digital asset management program rather than a file browser.

Smart Collections give you a useful way of automating Catalog searches. If you’ve never used Smart Collections before you’ll be amazed at how much they’ll make your life easier.

Key skill #10. Know how to search for images in Lightroom

One of the benefits of Lightroom’s Catalog system is that it gives you a lot of options for searching and finding specific photos.

For example, would you like to find all your photos taken of a specific person? That’s easy with keywords.

Or perhaps you’d like to find all your black and white photos taken in the last year? Again that’s easy in Lightroom.

Or maybe you’d like to view all your photos taken with a specific camera and lens combination? That’s another task that’s easy in Lightroom but would be incredibly difficult using a file browsing program.

You can learn more about this important skill in the following articles.

Key skill #11. Decide how you are going to use star ratings, color labels and metadata from the outset and then stick to it

This isn’t easy, as you’ll probably think of different ways you can use these features as you become more proficient with Lightroom. But the more consistent you are, the simpler it is to use these tools to organize and search your photo collection.

Key skill #12. Decide how you are going to use keywords

The same applies to keywords. Some photographers love them, others have to use them for business reasons, others ignore them. But I’d be surprised if you couldn’t find at least a few good uses for keywords. Just like star ratings and color labels it’s a good idea to decide how to use them right at the start.

Hopefully this twelve point checklist gives you a good overview of the essential skills you need to learn to get the most from the Lightroom Library module. Once you’ve learned how to do them all you have created a solid foundation for learning to use Lightroom properly. It’s also helpful for identifying the areas where you need to improve your skill levels.

Of course, if you have questions about any of this then please let us know in the comments below.

The next steps

If you’d like to learn more about Lightroom I suggest you sign up to our Introducing Lightroom free email course (see below).

If you haven’t come across this idea before you may be wondering what separates character portraits from beauty style portraiture. So let’s try a definition.

What is character portrait photography?

This type of portrait photography is about capturing personality and individuality. It’s also about creating compelling portraits of people who lead interesting lives.

This style of portrait photography opens up your range of models beyond people that are considered conventionally beautiful. It’s a more simplistic, honest approach that often creates deeper, more meaningful portraits. The techniques and principles behind it are simple but may take years to master.

So, if the goal of a character portrait is to capture the personality of an interesting person, what’s the best way to go about that? Let’s look at some techniques you can use.

1. Find interesting people for character portraits

One of the nice things about character portraits is that it opens up the possibility of photographing all sorts of interesting people. The challenge is finding them. Perhaps you can start with people you know who do interesting things.

For example, the model in this portrait is a circus performer that I met through a mutual friend.

If you don’t know anybody who is an interesting character, then consider setting yourself a project and making contact with people who may make interesting subjects. Let’s say you decided to make portrait of circus performers. You could get in contact with local circus groups and ask if any members would be interested in taking part.

2. Ask your model to wear their own clothes

Choice of clothing can say a lot about an individual, particularly if they have a quirky fashion sense. This is the opposite approach to fashion, where the model often wears clothes that don’t belong to them. For character portraits ask the model to bring along clothes and props that are relevant to their personality.

The model in the portrait below is a circus performer. She wore the costume she uses while performing and she bought along the hoops she uses for her performance. We included the hoop in some of the portraits to add interest and tell a story.

3. Shoot environmental portraits

When capturing somebody’s character look for links between your model and the environment. Sometimes, as in the portraits of circus performers above, it’s interesting to place people in a new but appropriate environment.

But other times the environment may tell an important part of the story about your model’s character. For example, maybe their home or garden are decorated in a way that reflects their character. Or perhaps they have an interesting hobby or profession.

The man in the portraits below makes wooden flutes, so it made sense to photograph him in his workshop. I learned some interesting things about the process of flute making, and created a series of portraits that show him at work. This documentary style approach to portraiture can lead to some interesting results.

4. Focus on your model’s eyes

This applies to all types of portraiture but even more so when trying to capture their character. This idea goes beyond focusing your lens on your model’s eyes and making sure they are well lit and have a catchlight.

Eyes are important because they tell you a lot about a person. They convey emotion, vitality, and life. The saying, “The eyes are the windows of the soul” has a lot of truth to it. Older people have wrinkles around their eyes that speak of experiences lived and wisdom gained.

For example, in this portrait the strong eye contact makes a powerful connection between the viewer and the model.

5. Use prime lenses for portraits

Prime lenses are the secret weapon of the portrait photographer. Part of that is because of the practical advantages. We all know you can select a wide aperture to blur the background to create portraits with bokeh.

But you can also set the aperture to f2.8 or f4 knowing the results will be sharp (compared to the softer performance expected from zoom lenses at those apertures).

Being restricted to a single focal length means you have to get creative with your compositions. You can create variety by changing the distance between you and your model, and by utilizing different points of view.

But most of all, the minimal approach to gear enforced by prime lenses lends itself to a more honest approach to portraiture. I often take just one camera, one short telephoto lens, and no lights to a portrait shoot. I prefer to rely on natural light. Eliminating distractions helps me concentrate on the next step – making a genuine and meaningful connection with the model.

I used an 85mm prime lens set to f2.8 to create this portrait. The wide aperture blurred the background, making the model the center of attention.

5. Build rapport with your model

The success of the shoot depends on the relationship you create with your model. You might only have a short time to do this. I’ve turned up for shoots with people who I’ve never met before, having communicated only by email or text message. It helps that I’m a naturally curious person and enjoy learning about other people and their lives.

Part of building rapport is getting the model genuinely interested in the photo shoot. If it is part of an ongoing project let the model know so they can take pride in being part of it.

Take a genuine interest in your model and what it is they do that made you want to make a character portrait of them in the first place. Remember that the conversation and the shoot is about your model, not about you.

For example, I once made a series of images of an artist called Chris Meek at work in his studio (the portrait below is one of them). We spent a few hours talking about art and life as well as his working process. It was a good afternoon and an interesting discussion that we both enjoyed.

6. How to capture character in travel portraits

You can create beautiful portraits that capture character while traveling. It helps if you are in a place that has lots of interesting people, and if you speak the local language so you can communicate with people. Pro photographers often work with fixers to help them both meet interesting people and overcome language differences. This is something you should consider if you are serious about creating great character portraits while traveling.

I made this character portrait of an elderly lady in Bolivia. Her eyes and the wrinkles around them convey lots about her life. Even the hat tells a story – it’s style is modeled on the helmets worn by Spanish soldiers when they first conquered the region.

8. Develop your portraits appropriately

Think about your developing style. For example, a portrait that expresses character probably needs far less retouching than a portrait that is trying to make the model look as physically beautiful as possible. A light touch is often best.

Consider converting your best portraits to black and white. There is something timeless and special about a good black and white portrait that’s ideal for expressing character and emotion.

In black and white there’s also more room to experiment with adding contrast and clarity to make the portrait more dramatic, especially with portraits of men.

For example, in this portrait I used clarity to bring out the textures in the man’s skin, beard and hat.

Capturing character, rather than beauty poses a challenge to the creative photographer, but the results are often more satisfying. That’s because an interest in capturing character marks an evolution in a photographer’s thinking. It’s part of a shift from photographing the superficial to looking for deeper themes and human connections. It’s also a great way to meet interesting people!

Canon EOS users have had this feature in Digital Photo Professional (DPP) for years. Considering that Lightroom is a much more advanced Raw converter, you’d think that it would have the same feature (yes, that’s a hint, Adobe). But it doesn’t! Until now…

What is the Show Focus Points plugin?

Show Focus Points is a free Lightroom plugin that shows you which autofocus points were used with photos taken from most Canon or Nikon digital SLR cameras. You need to have Lightroom 5 or later installed. It also works with the Sony A77ii, but this is in beta, so it’s not guaranteed to work properly.

Does the Show Focus Points plugin work?

I’ve tested the plugin with photos taken on EOS 350D, 40D, 60D and 5D Mark II cameras. It works with Raw files but not JPEGs, and Raw files that have been converted to DNG as well as Canon’s CR2 format.

The plugin was last updated in early 2017 and works with the latest version of Lightroom Classic CC (7.4 at the time of writing). The plugin is free, which is always nice, but as the author isn’t making any money from it don’t expect much in the way of support.

Show Focus Points plugin in action

Here’s a screen shot showing the plugin with a photo taken on an EOS Digital Rebel XT. It shows that five of the seven autofocus points achieved focus.

One of the things I like about this plugin is that it generates a lot more information than which autofocus points were used. Let’s take a look at the panel on the right of the window.

It tells you the camera and lens, the focal length, exposure and autofocus settings, the hyperfocal distance and some information about the number of autofocus points used. If your camera/lens combination records the focusing distance that appears here as well.

Here’a an example using a photo taken with an EOS 40D.

A close look at the Focus information reveals the following:

You can see that in this case the plugin shows the subject distance, the hyperfocal distance, plus the closest and furthest points that are in focus at this aperture setting (under Depth of field).

Finally, an example taken with an EOS 5D Mark II.

Here’s the Focus information.

You can see that camera was in manual focus mode, and was focused on a point 83cm from the camera, and that there is less than 2cm of depth of field at this setting.

When the Show Focus Points plugin lies

Is the information from the plugin accurate all the time? Not at all. For instance, in the last example, the photo of the glass bottle, I had a 500D close-up lens fitted to the lens. So the lens wasn’t focused at 83cm, the camera was in fact much closer to the subject. That also means the depth of field information is inaccurate.

The other time when the information may not be accurate is when you focus, lock focus, then recompose. The plugin can only tell you which autofocus point achieved focus. It can’t give you any information about recomposed photos because cameras don’t record this information in the Raw file.

Download the Show Focus Points plugin

You can download the Show Focus Points plugin from the dedicated website (click the link). It’s currently a free download for Windows and Mac, and the plugin works with Nikon and Canon cameras (plus the Sony A77ii in beta).

It takes real enthusiasm to use these old chemical processes. You may need to buy a large format camera and you would almost certainly have to mix your own chemicals. It takes lots of time and patience to learn and perfect the techniques.

For some photographers the craft element is part of the appeal, and I’m not trying to dissuade you from experimenting with old processes. But what if you like the look of an old process, but don’t want to get your hands dirty?

This is difficult in Lightroom unless you invest lots of time trying to emulate the look created by old processes. But the good news is that the B&W Effects plugin from Topaz Labs makes it easy.

What is B&W Effects?

B&W Effects is a plugin from Topaz Labs that converts color photos to black and white. It works with Lightroom, Photoshop CC and Photoshop Elements on both Windows and Mac platforms.

Topaz’s goal was to create a black and white plugin that would change the way photographers see and process black and white images, allowing you to “apply detailed, stylized, and HDR-like effects, as well as apply historically accurate black and white looks.”

Why use a black and white plugin?

If you’ve never used a plugin, you may be wondering why you might need one for black and white conversions. The answer is that plugins like B&W Effects extend the functionality of Lightroom and Photoshop by giving you more control over tonal values, powerful tools for emphasizing texture and, particularly in the case of B&W Effects, the ability to emulate antique photographic processes.

Emulating historical processes with Topaz B&W Effects

• Presets are divided into groups called Collections (1).
• When you click on a Collection the plugin displays the presets it contains underneath (2).
• When you hover the mouse over a preset the plugin displays a preview (3). Click on the preset to apply it to the photo.
• You can can make further adjustments using the right-hand panels (4).

Cyanotype Collection

The cyanotype process has been around since 1842 and is still in use today. A cyanotypes is a blue and white monochrome print on paper or card, made using hand-mixed chemical solutions. The print is developed by exposure to ultraviolet light.

You can even create cyanotypes from images originating on a digital camera by printing a negative on transparent acetate using an inkjet printer.

Naturally, the process is much simpler if you use B&W Effects. I developed the photos below using the Cerulean Dynamic and Prussian presets.

Albumen Collection

The Albumen print was invented in 1850. It uses a solution made from albumen (found in egg whites) and salt to prepare the paper for a silver nitrate solution which is sensitive to UV light. The negative is placed in contact with the paper during the exposure. As a result albumen prints are the same size as the negative.

The Albumen process was widely used in portrait studios at the end of the 19th century. If you ever see an Albumen print from this era in a museum you will notice the small size of the print and the incredibly fine detail it contains.

I developed this photo with the Chocolate Dynamic and Aubergine Dynamic presets.

Van Dyke Brown Collection

The Van Dyke Brown is similar to Cyanotype and Albumen prints in that you expose paper coated with chemicals to UV light while it’s in contact with a negative.The print comes out a dark brown color and the process is named after a brown oil point named after Flemish painter Van Dyke.

I developed this photo with the Umber Dynamic and Redwood Fawn presets.

Opalotype Collection

Opalotype prints are similar to some early wet plate processes in that the print is made on a sheet of translucent white glass coated with a light sensitive emulsion. The exposure was made using either a negative placed in contact with the glass or by transferring a carbon print. Opalotype prints are characterized by soft coloring and lack of detail, and may be hand tinted.

I find I get the best results with the Opalotype presets when I apply them to photos with bright backgrounds. I developed this photo with the Hand Tinted Chiffon and Milk Memories presets.

Platinum Collection

The Platinum process was develop in the 1830’s and 40’s but never came into widespread use thanks to the popularity of Albumen prints. There is something quite beautiful about genuine platinum prints, they have a wide tonal range and subtle tones quite unlike any other type of black and white print. Platinum prints have great longevity but the expense and difficulty of the process means that not many people are interested in using the process itself. Luckily, B&W Effects gives you an easy way of replicating the aesthetics of a platinum print.

I developed this photo with the Platinum II and Platinum VI presets.

A few things to note:

• There are a total of 60 antique process presets spread across five collections in B&W Effects (yes, I counted them), giving you plenty of choice. Like all presets, you can use these as starting points and adapt the settings to suit your image and taste.

• These presets won’t work with all photos, and give the best results when you carefully match the subject to the technique. Portraits, nude studies, simple landscapes and photos of anything that’s old are all ideal subjects.

• Finally, if you are making inkjet prints your choice of paper has a big influence on the final print. Try and choose paper surfaces that match the character of prints produced using the original processes. There are plenty of options; the fine art papers manufactured by Hahnemühle and Ilford are both worth a look.

Adaptive Exposure in B&W Effects

You may remember that earlier I mentioned that one of Topaz’s aims with this plug is let you “apply detailed, stylized, and HDR-like effects”. This is the other side of the B&W Effects coin – on one hand you get some interesting and unique antique photographic process emulations, on the other you can use the plugin’s sliders to create stylized black and white images.

In B&W Effects the magic happens in the Adaptive Exposure section. This set of controls lets you enhance the dynamic range of the image and create grungy or HDR-like effects. Sliders bring out extra detail in the image, and the plugin uses a clever concept called regions to address contrast and detail in specific areas.

This screenshot should give you an idea of what Adaptive Exposure can do. The comparison shows a neutral black and white conversion on the left and the same photo with Adaptive Exposure applied on the right.

The Adaptive Exposure adjustments make the image pop and enhance detail and texture. Here’s the same comparison with the photos zoomed out.

As you can see, Adaptive Exposure certainly helps you achieve the stylized look. If you’re like me, you’re probably a bit wary of the over-stylized black and white images, but don’t let this fact put you off exploring the potential of this plugin. Remember that you can make the effect as subtle as you like. I’ve kind of exaggerated it a little here to give you the idea of what it can do. Unfortunately there’s no way of applying Adaptive Exposure as a local adjustment.

As a final example, here’s a photo that I made using a Van Dyke Brown then applying Adaptive Exposure to bring out the textures.

Final thoughts

Topaz B&W Effects isn’t the slickest black and white plugin I’ve used. The interface could do with an update and the controls and sliders feel a little clunky at times.

But if you like the idea of emulating historical processes then there isn’t a plugin that does it better than Topaz B&W Effects. For me, this one feature makes the plugin worth the money, and also one of my favorite plugins to use, despite the outdated interface.

The Adaptive Exposure sliders open up lots of creative possibilities, especially if you combine them with some of the presets. It’s just a shame there’s no way to apply them as a local adjustment. Hopefully this is something that comes in a future version.

If you’re curious to see whether B&W Effects would work for you the best thing to do is download the free 30 day trial and test it out.

What is Silver Efex Pro 2?

Silver Efex Pro 2 is a plugin that converts color photos to black and white. It extends the capabilities of Lightroom and Photoshop by giving you tools to emphasize texture, emulate film, apply toning effects and add borders.

It comes as part of a suite of seven plugins that work with Photoshop Elements, Photoshop CC and Lightroom. It’s both Mac and Windows compatible.

The history of Silver Efex Pro

The original version of Silver Efex Pro was created by a company called Nik Software and retailed at $149. You could also buy it as part of the Nik Collection (a suite of six plugins) for around $500.

In 2012 Google bought out Nik Software to acquire Snapseed, a photo editing app for iOS and Android. Google dropped the price of the Nik Collection to $149 and then, after announcing that it was no longer going to develop the software, made it free.

In 2017 DxO bought the rights to the Nik Collection from Google and continued to let photographers download the software without paying. In June 2018 DxO announced it had completed an overhaul of the Nik Collection and released it for sale at $69 (or $49 if you buy it in June 2018).

There are no new features in the latest version of the Nik Collection, but DxO has updated all the plugins so they work with the latest versions of Lightroom, Photoshop CC and Photoshop Elements, and in the latest Windows and Mac operating systems.

The Nik Collection trial

You can download the Nik Collection 2018 30 day trial from the DxO website. A word of warning – when you install it the trial overwrites any previous versions of the plugins installed on your computer. It’s a good idea to either need to backup the older versions first (in case you don’t go ahead and buy Nik Collection 2018) or be certain that you intend to buy the newest version.

Who is Silver Efex Pro 2 for?

Silver Efex Pro 2 is for the professional or advanced hobbyist photographer who wants to take black and white processing to the ultimate level. If you are serious about black and white photography, you’ll love this plugin.

But if you haven’t learned how to get the best out of Lightroom yet, then I recommend you take the time to do that first. That knowledge will help you make the most out of Silver Efex Pro 2.

Silver Efex Pro 2 in action

Here are two versions of the same photo – one created in Lightroom and the other in Silver Efex Pro 2 (using the Antique Plate I preset as a starting point).

I could probably create something close to the version created in Silver Efex Pro 2 in Lightroom. But it was quicker and easier in Silver Efex Pro 2.

What are the advantages of using Silver Efex Pro?

It’s time to take a detailed look at some of the benefits of using Silver Efex Pro 2.

Silver Efex Pro 2 has built-in presets

Silver Efex Pro 2 has 38 presets that you can use as starting points for your processing work, including vintage looks as well as modern ones.

Not all photographers like using presets. For that reason Silver Efex Pro 2 applies a neutral preset when you open up your image for the first time. This applies a straight conversion, the same as setting Treatment to Black and White in Lightroom.

It’s up to you whether you want to work with the neutral preset or one of the more creative presets in Silver Efex Pro 2. You can also create your own presets and save them to speed up the editing process.

Here are some examples of Silver Efex Pro 2’s presets.

Silver Efex Pro 2 has more tools for emphasizing texture

One of the elements that makes black and white photos so effective is texture. The Clarity slider is my favorite tool for enhancing texture in Lightroom, but Silver Efex Pro 2 takes the idea several steps further with its Structure sliders.

The Structure sliders are similar to Clarity in Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw. But Silver Efex Pro 2 gives you more control by letting you adjust Structure in the shadows, midtones and highlights as well as globally. There is also a Fine Structure slider for increasing mid-tone contrast in areas of fine detail (see below).

Here’s a practical example. With this photo I added lots of Structure to the midtones, less to the highlights and negative structure to the shadows to emphasize the softness of the dark background with the textures of the clay cups.

These are the settings used.

Silver Efex Pro 2 gives you good control over tones

You get more much more control over global tonal adjustments in Silver Efex Pro 2 than you do with Lightroom. There are some proprietary sliders only found in Nik software.

• The Amplify Whites and Amplify Blacks sliders are useful for making highlights brighter and shadows darker. The effect seems to be more subtle than using Lightroom’s Highlights and Shadows sliders.

• The Soft Contrast slider increases contrast but in a more gentle way than using the contrast adjustment in Photoshop or Lightroom. It’s almost as if there is a subtle soft focus layer over the top. The screenshot below demonstrates the effect (soft contrast applied to the right-hand side).

Silver Efex Pro 2 uses control points for local adjustments

Local adjustments are where Silver Efex Pro 2 really stands out. If you use Photoshop, you use selections and masks to make local adjustments. In Lightroom, you use tools such as the adjustment brush, radial filter and graduated filter. In Silver Efex Pro 2 you use control points, part of Nik Software’s proprietary U Point Technology.

A control point is the centre of a circle within which you can make tonal adjustments. The clever bit is that the adjustment only affects tones similar in brightness and color to the pixels underneath the control point itself. If you place a control point over a dark tone, then increase the brightness, only the dark tones within the circle are adjusted. Light tones remain untouched.

Here’s what control points look like. On the left are the adjustment options, and on the right the circle shows the area covered by the control point.

It may sound complicated but it only takes a little practice to understand how it works. You can use as many control points as you want in an image, and group them together to cover areas that don’t conform easily to a circular shape.

It’s debatable whether control points are better than Lightroom’s local adjustment tools, and a lot comes down to personal preference. If you’re new to Silver Efex Pro 2 it takes time to get used to this way of working.

Silver Efex Pro 2 has a good workflow

Silver Efex Pro 2 has a detailed history panel that lists every adjustment you make to your image. You can jump back to any point in the history panel and revert to it. Silver Efex Pro 2 remembers your subsequent settings so you can go forward again if you want.

You can compare the current edit with the photo how it looked at any stage during its history. These are simple ideas, but good ones, that help a lot with the developing process.

Silver Efex Pro has the standard before and after preview, which you can see above. But it also has a split view that I rather like. You can move the dividing line to see more of one version or the other.

Silver Efex Pro 2 has film emulation

If you like to emulate black and white film Silver Efex Pro 2 has you covered. There are 18 types of black and white film to choose from. If you’re feeling nostalgic and hankering after the grainy look of Ilford’s Delta 400 (or at least Silver Efex Pro’s version of it), it’s just a click of the button away.

Silver Efex Pro 2 has borders

It’s not difficult to add black borders in Photoshop but Silver Efex Pro 2 makes it even easier. There are 14 borders to choose from and you can adjust the size, spread and roughness of each.

Silver Efex Pro 2 has split toning presets

Silver Efex Pro 2 has 23 split toning presets which you can use as starting points, or you can create your own.

Silver Efex 2 uses the zone system

Finally, there’s an interesting feature that will be of interest to zone system fans. Underneath the Loupe/Histogram display there are 11 number squares in greyscale sequence. These correspond to zones zero to 11 in Ansel Adam’s zone system. Hover over the square and Silver Efex Pro 2 highlights the corresponding tones in the image.

The screenshot below shows the tones that fall into zone two. The practical application is that you can see whether you have true blacks or whites in your image, and adjust the black or white points accordingly.

Final thoughts

I hope that’s give you a good overview of some of the features in Silver Efex Pro 2. I recommend it to anybody who likes to work in black and white. The best way to tell whether the software is for you is to download the trial and test it out.

Some photographers may be annoyed that a suite of software that used to be free now costs $69 and doesn’t have any extra features. But bear in mind that DxO have updated the code so that the plugins work with the latest versions of Lightroom and Photoshop, and the latest operating systems, without any problems.

As for the question of value for money, it’s hard to argue with the price considering you get seven plugins altogether. If you’re into black and white photography and end up using Silver Efex Pro 2 a lot, I’m sure you’ll consider it money well spent.

That article assumed that you want to import all your photos into Lightroom before any kind of culling (that is, deciding which photos are worth developing and which ones aren’t) takes place.

But there are ways you can save time by culling your photos before you import them into Lightroom.

The maths is simple. Let’s say you take 500 photos during a shot, but decide that out of those you only want to import the best 250 into Lightroom. This cuts the import time by half and, as a bonus, means you use less hard drive space (assuming you discard any unimported photos).

This approach isn’t for everybody and many photographers are happy to import all their photos into Lightroom and use the tools in Lightroom’s Library module (Compare View, Survey View etc.) to decide which photos to develop.

So, what type of photographer would want to cull photos before they import them into Lightroom? I can think of several people for who this could be useful.

Any photographer who shoots a large number of photos and is confident they can cull their photos accurately before import. The aim is to reduce the import time and amount of hard space needed.

Wedding photographers who shoot lots of photos and want to view them quickly before import. This type of photographer may still import every photo but wants a quicker way to view and rate photos than is offered by Lightroom’s Library module.

Sports photographers who use JPEG and send photos via the internet to their agency during sports events. This type of photographer doesn’t have time during the event to import photos into Lightroom and needs a quick and reliable way to view photos, mark the best ones, add keywords and send them via FTP.

There are two ways to cull photos before importing them into Lightroom.

1. Use Loupe View in the Lightroom Import window.
2. Use the Photo Mechanic app.

Let’s look at both options.

Culling photos in Lightroom with Loupe View

When you open the Import window in Lightroom it automatically takes you to Grid View and displays thumbnails of the photos to be imported.

Even with the thumbnails at their largest size (as in the screenshot above) it is difficult to tell whether any of the images are out of focus or are candidates to be discarded for other reasons.

For that, Lightroom gives you Loupe View, which you reach by clicking the Loupe View icon at the bottom of the Import window (marked below) or using the E keyboard shortcut.

Loupe View looks like this.

There are several keyboard shortcuts to help you move through the photos.

Arrow keys: Use these to display the next or previous photo.

Space bar: Zoom into the current photo (press again to zoom back out).

U: Uncheck the Include in Import box.

P: Check the Include in Import box.

You can use the arrow keys and the U and P keys to quickly move through your photos and select which ones you want to import into Lightroom. However, there are a couple of things that can slow you down.

• There is no Auto Advance in Loupe View. Unlike the Library module, you can’t set Lightroom to advance on to the next photo automatically when you press a key.

• There is no way to change the order that your photos are displayed in Loupe View. To do this, you have to return to Grid View, go to the Sort menu (see below), then return to Loupe View.

• There’s no way to see your photos’ metadata in the Import window.

• There’s no way to select some of the photos and send them to somebody else using the internet (something that sports photographers need).

• You can’t add IPTC data other than keywords before importing photos without using Metadata presets (which take time to create).

Now let’s take a look at Photo Mechanic to see how it resolves these problems.

Introducing Photo Mechanic

Photo Mechanic is an application created by Dennis Walker that’s designed to help photojournalists rapidly import and sort their photos during sports events like the Super Bowl. It’s evolved into a powerful image viewing program that’s compatible with Lightroom (with the caveats mentioned below). It’s important to note that Photo Mechanic isn’t a Lightroom replacement and has no Raw file conversion capability.

What does Photo Mechanic do?

Photo Mechanic allows you to view your photos before you import them into Lightroom. Unlike Lightroom’s Import window, you can view metadata (such as camera settings) and compare images, as well as apply star ratings, color labels, add keywords and update IPTC data.

You can also use it to copy photos from a memory card to a hard drive (called ingesting photos in Photo Mechanic).

What are Photo Mechanic’s most useful features?

Here’s a list of Photo Mechanic’s most useful features.

• You can see your photos’ metadata before you import them into Lightroom.

• Photo Mechanic supports FTP and allows you to send photos to other people using the internet without importing them into Lightroom.

• Photo Mechanic has Auto advance when previewing photos.

• Photo Mechanic can import from more than one memory card at the same time. Lightroom can’t do this if you’re using multiple card readers.

• Photo Mechanic is designed by and for photojournalists and is completely customizable to give pro photographers the fastest possible workflow.

• Photo Mechanic works with programs other than Lightroom. If you want to use a Lightroom alternative (such as Luminar or ON1 Raw) then you could combine it with Photo Mechanic for a more efficient workflow. In this scenario Photo Mechanic acts as a rapid and efficient file browser.

Does Photo Mechanic have any disadvantages?

Photo Mechanic is a great application, but it does have a few disadvantages you need to consider before buying it.

• Price. Photo Mechanic costs $150. This is not much for a pro photographer who needs Photo Mechanic to do his job properly, but it may be too much for a hobbyist photographer.

• Photo Mechanic adds an extra step to your workflow. It’s faster in some ways, but it also adds an extra layer of complexity to your workflow. If you prefer the simple approach then stick to Lightroom’s import process.

• Photo Mechanic doesn’t remember what color labels or star ratings you’ve applied to your photos. If you close Photo Mechanic then open it again, you have to start the photo culling process over.

• You can’t browse photos on mobile devices without copying them to your computer first.

• Photo Mechanic doesn’t support Collections and is not a replacement for Lightroom’s Library module (if that’s what you’re looking for).

• Photo Mechanic is not a photo editor (although it does let you convert Raw files to JPEG without changing the photo).

• It’s not easy to set Photo Mechanic up so that Lightroom recognizes both star ratings and color labels create by Photo Mechanic.

You can download a 30 day trial to test Photo Mechanic and make up your own mind.

Photo Mechanic in action

This screenshot shows Photo Mechanic’s Contact Sheet. It is similar to Grid View in Lightroom. To get to here, select a folder using the Navigator pane on the left and double click to open it as a Contact Sheet.

Photo Mechanic shows the filename, camera and lens, exposure settings and date and time under each thumbnail (you can change this in Preferences).

Double-click on any photo in the Contact Sheet to open it in a Preview window. You’ll see thumbnails of all images in the same folder on the left (use the up and down arrow keys to move through them) and metadata on the right.

You can also display the thumbnails at the bottom of the screen.

You can display two photos (but not more) side by side for comparison.

Press the Z key to zoom in. Set the zoom level using the slider on the right. Press Z again to zoom out.

You can remove the side panes to create more viewing space.

If you set Cursor mode to Loupe (View > Cursor mode > Loupe) Photo Mechanic displays a zoomed view of the selected photo when click on it in the Contact Sheet window. This lets you zoom in to check focus without leaving the Contact Sheet.

How to label photos in Photo Mechanic

Photo Mechanic lets you tag photos (this is like using flags to mark photos as Picks in Lightroom), or apply a star rating of 1-5 or one of eight color classes (similar to color labels in Lightroom).

Note: Tags aren’t recognized by Lightroom but star ratings and Color Classes are, in theory at least. The first time I imported photos into Lightroom after viewing them in Photo Mechanic Lightroom didn’t pick up star ratings or color labels.

Eventually I realized that I was using a Metadata preset that overrode the metadata set by Photo Mechanic. The solution was to set Metadata to None in Lightroom’s Import window. I also discovered (thanks to a reader) that you have to use the same text labels for Color Xlasses in Photo Mechanic as you do for Color Labels in Lightroom, otherwise Lightroom won’t recognize them.

To enable star ratings or color classes go to Accessibility under Preferences and set Single key shortcut for Color Class or 5-star rating to one of these options:

• 0-8 sets Color Class
• 0-5 sets Rating

This enables the following keyboard shortcuts:

• If you choose Rating then you can use the numbers 0-5 on the keyboard to apply a star rating.

• If you choose Color Class then you use the numbers 0-8 on the keyboard to apply a color class.

• You can also set Photo Mechanic to use the same five colors as Lightroom’s color labels in Preferences. In this case you’d use the numbers 1-5 as shortcuts.

Note: The text labels in the Color Class settings have to match those used in Lightroom for this to work. In the example below, Lightroom would only recognize these Color Classes if the corresponding Color Labels were also set to Red, Yellow, Green, Blue and Purple. If you change the settings in Lightroom, you also have to change them in Photo Mechanic.

• Alternatively, use the T keyboard shortcut to tag a photo.

Whichever method you select Photo Mechanic automatically advances to the next photo in the sequence when you press any key.

How to transfer photos from Photo Mechanic to Lightroom

Once you’ve labelled your photos in Photo Mechanic you need to send them over to Lightroom. There are two possible workflows.

Workflow 1: You import only tagged photos and discard the rest.

Workflow 2: You import all the photos, but use star ratings so you can see in Lightroom which photos you’ve marked for developing.

Start by going to Launching in Preferences and make sure that Default application to edit photos is set to Adobe Lightroom Classic CC (or whatever your version of Lightroom is).

You also need to check Assign default application (it’s a little difficult to see in the screenshot below because the text overlaps the checkboxes on my display).

Workflow 1: Go to View > Tagged to show tagged photos only in the Contact Sheet. In this example there are four tagged photos. Each one also has a 1 star rating and a yellow color class.

The color class and star rating are display under each thumbnail. The box on the bottom right is checked if the photo is tagged.

Go to Edit > Select All then right-click any photo and select Edit selected photos with > Adobe Lightroom Classic CC from the menu.

Lightroom opens, goes to the Import window where only the photos you selected in Photo Mechanic are checked for import.

Workflow 2: Go to Edit > Select All to select every photo. Right-click any photo and select Edit selected photos with > Adobe Lightroom Classic CC from the menu.

Lightroom opens and goes to the Import window where all the photos are checked ready for import.

Now you can import the photos using your normal settings. You can save even more time by creating an Import Preset to use when you import photos from Photo Mechanic.

Note: For Lightroom to recognize the star rating and color class applied in Photo Mechanic you have to set Metadata to None in the Apply During Import panel in Lightroom’s Import window.

Taking Photo Mechanic further

So far we’ve only touched on what Photo Mechanic can do. If you’re a sports photographer, photojournalist or wedding photographer you’ll find that there are lots of features to help you with workflow related issues such as adding IPTC data and exporting files.

One of Photo Mechanic’s strengths is that you can create templates for just about any task. Just like using presets in Lightroom that helps you switch quickly between different sets of settings depending on the criteria for the task at hand.

You can learn more about Photo Mechanic’s advanced capabilities with these articles by other photographers.

The next steps

If you’d like to learn more about Lightroom I suggest you sign up to our Introducing Lightroom free email course (see below).

Mastering Lightroom: Book One – The Library Module

Our ebook Mastering Lightroom Book One: The Library Module is a complete guide to using Lightroom’s Library module to import, organise and search your photo files. You’ll learn how to tame your growing photo collection using Collections and Collection Sets, and how to get organized so you spend less time searching for photos and more time in the Develop module.

These are all good questions, but it can be hard to figure out the answers by yourself. I’ve been buying camera lenses for over twenty years, and I’ve learned a lot about buying camera lenses on that journey. Here are ten lens buying tips to help you figure out which camera lens to buy next.

Tip #1: Budget – how much do you have to spend?

Everybody’s budget is different, and the amount of money you have to spend determines which lenses come into consideration. But, no matter what your budget, hold that figure in mind while you read this article. You may see things in a different light afterward.

Tip #2: What’s the big picture?

Keep the big picture in mind. What lenses would you eventually like to own for your camera? What type of photography are you likely to be doing over the next five or ten years? How does your next purchase fit into this plan? Ideally, you should have a good idea of which lenses you need, and then you can plan accordingly.

My approach is to own as few, good quality lenses as possible. In other words – don’t overbuy.

For example, let’s say you are a photographer who owns just one lens, a kit lens, and your favorite subject is landscape photography.

You might decide that you need to buy a high-quality, wide-angle zoom for your landscape photos, and a telephoto zoom (such as a 70-200mm) for zooming in on details and compressing perspective. As most landscape photos are taken with an aperture of f8 or f11 lenses with a maximum aperture of f4 are fine.

For example, this photo was made with a 17-40mm zoom set to 40mm on a full-frame camera.

On the other hand, if your main interest is portrait photography, then you’d probably want to buy a short telephoto prime with a wide maximum aperture for creating portraits with bokeh, like this one made with an 85mm lens set to f2.8.

This type of thinking can lead to a big shift in what lenses you decide to buy. For example, a few years ago I became frustrated with the size and weight of my Canon system. I was also thinking ahead to some travel plans I had coming up, and realized it was important to keep my kit as lightweight as possible to prevent problems with strictly enforced hand luggage allowances. That led to the decision to switch to the Fujifilm X-Series system. I now have the lightweight kit required for traveling.

Tip #3: New or second hand?

Don’t be afraid to buy second hand lenses. Camera stores often sell second-hand lenses at good prices with a guarantee to give you peace of mind. There are also plenty of Facebook groups where photographers sell unwanted gear. Buying second hand can save you a lot of money and help you build a good lens collection more quickly, or put money towards going somewhere interesting to take photos.

With second hand lenses the important things to check for are scratches on the front and rear lens elements and any dents or marks that may indicate the lens has been dropped or knocked (if a lens has been dropped there may be a problem with the way the lens elements are aligned leading to a deterioration in image quality).

Tip #4: APS-C, Full-frame or Micro Four-thirds?

Most manufacturers offer both APS-C and full-frame cameras in their ranges. But this makes buying lenses even more confusing.

Let’s say you own an APS-C camera. But at the back of your mind you think you might one day buy a full-frame body. That raises the question – do you buy a lens that works on APS-C bodies only (the advantage being that it is probably smaller and lighter than a lens that would fit a full-frame camera) or one that fits a full-frame body as well (which will probably be larger and more expensive)?

Tricky question to answer, isn’t it? And that’s not even taking into account the difference that sensor makes to the lens’s angle of view.

If I can give you one piece of advice regarding sensor size, it’s this (learned from personal experience): decide whether your first camera body should be Micro Four-thirds, APS-C or full-frame, then plan to stick with that sensor size in the future. Owing both APS-C and full-frame bodies greatly complicates the question of which lenses to buy and makes it harder to build a collection that contains a few, but good quality lenses.

Tip #5: Don’t fall into the focal length trap

The focal length trap is the belief that you need zoom lenses that cover every conceivable focal length. For example, if you own an APS-C camera and an 18-55m kit lens and would like to buy a telephoto zoom, you might feel that you need one that starts at 55mm so that you have every focal length covered.

This simply isn’t true, which is lucky as there aren’t many telephoto zooms that cover the 55mm focal length!

The key is to think about the subjects you’d like to photograph with your telephoto lens, then to pick the best lens for that subject. Let’s look at how that might work out.

Good lenses for portrait photography

A 50mm prime lens is a great portrait lens on an APS-C camera that gives you the benefit of high image quality and a wide aperture for good bokeh. Or you might look at a longer focal length such as 85mm or 100mm.

I made this portrait with a 50mm lens on an APS-C camera.

Good lenses for close-up and macro photography

An 80mm or 100mm macro lenses is a good choice for close-up and macro photography. I made this photo with my Samyang 100m macro lens.

Good lenses for sports or wildlife photography

For these subjects, where there’s a limit as to how close you can get to your subject, you’ll need a 70-200mm zoom at the very least. You may even need a 300mm or 400mm lens, or a telephoto lens that covers these focal lengths.

I was able to get close enough to the action with a 70-200mm zoom to make the photo below.

The key point here is that lens choice is related to subject. The subject always comes first. Once you know what you are going to photograph, you can choose the best lens (or lenses) for the job. Focal length is a secondary consideration.

This is especially true now that photographers can choose from cameras with several sensor sizes (Micro Four-thirds, APS-C and full-frame). For example, if you are thinking about buying a 50mm lens then you need to understand that the nature of that lens changes depending on the sensor size of your camera.

• On a Micro Four-thirds camera a 50mm lens is a short telephoto, great for portraits.
• On an APS-C camera a 50mm lens is also a short telephoto, but with a wider angle of view, also great for portraits.
• But on a full-frame camera a 50mm lens is a normal lens, okay for portraits but better for street and travel photography.

In other words, don’t buy a lens because you think you should own it, buy it because you actually need it to photograph a specific subject.

Tip #6: Should you buy a zoom or a prime lens?

The benefit of zoom lenses is convenience. If you are a wedding photographer it is much easier to zoom from a wide-angle to a telephoto when you need to, than it is to change lenses. If you are a landscape photographer it is easier to use a wide-angle zoom to frame the scene precisely, than it is to change prime lenses.

The benefits of prime lenses are image quality and wider apertures. Compare an 18-55mm kit lens (typical maximum aperture f/5.6) with a 50mm prime with maximum aperture of f/1.4. There’s a four stop difference 16 times more light) between f/1.4 and f5.6, which helps you take photos with blurred backgrounds, and also to shoot in low light conditions, without raising the ISO too much. That’s why a 50mm prime is a better portrait lens than the 18-55mm kit lens (taking us back to the point about lens choice being driven by subject, not focal length).

For example, I made this photo with an 18-55mm lens set to 55mm, f5.6 and ISO 1600. But if I had a 50mm f1.4 lens with me I would have had the option to shoot at f1.4 and ISO 200, or any aperture and ISO combination in-between.

Some photographers prefer primes, others zooms – thinking about your priorities will help you decide which is best for you.

For example, if you tend to shoot at apertures such as f5.6, f8 or f11, then you probably don’t need the wider aperture of a prime lens. A zoom may be a better choice.

Tip #7: Don’t forget about weight and size

Think about the weight and size of your lenses carefully. After all, you are the one who is going to be carrying them around.

But there is another thing you should also think about when it comes to size, and that is filters. You can save a lot of money on filters by buying smaller lenses. If you’re curious to see how much, do a search for circular polarizing filters and compare the prices of the same filter in 58mm and 77mm sizes. If you need to buy a lot of filters (landscape photographers take note) then you can potentially save hundreds of dollars by buying a lens with a smaller diameter.

For example, my Fujinon 14mm lens has a filter thread diameter of 58mm. Not only are 58mm sized screw-in filters much cheaper than larger sizes, but I can use the Lee Seven 5 filter system (shown below) which is smaller and much less expensive than their larger filter kits.

Tip #8: Build quality, weather proofing and autofocus

Most manufacturers have inexpensive, middle range, and expensive or high end lenses. Inexpensive lenses may seem like a bargain at the time, but they won’t be built as well as more expensive ones, and they may also have inferior (i.e. slower and noisier) autofocus motors.

At the other end of the scale expensive lenses tend to be built well, use good quality autofocus lenses (i.e. faster and quicker) and may also be weatherproofed (important if you take photos in bad weather or dusty conditions).

Bear these points in mind when considering a lens. Don’t forget to check how well a lens is built, whether it is weatherproofed, and the speed and quality of the autofocus motor.

Tip #9: Brand name or third party?

You can often save money by buying a third-party lens for your camera, but in my opinion it is best to buy a lens made by your camera’s manufacturer whenever possible.

Unless you have a specific reason to buy a third-party lens (usually because the type of lens you need isn’t made by your camera’s manufacturer) then stick with OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) lenses. They hold their value better, and autofocus performance is usually superior.

But there are exceptions. Recently I decided to buy a macro lens for my Fujifilm camera. Fujifilm has a good 80mm macro lens, but it’s expensive. I did some research and came across the Samyang 100mm f2.8 macro lens. The Samyang lens is manual focus and doesn’t have Image Stabilization (see next tip).

But as I always use a tripod and manual focus for macro photography these features aren’t necessary. The Samyang lens is a third of the price of the Fujifilm lens and has some great reviews. I bought the Samyang 100mm macro and haven’t regretted it.

Tip #10: Image Stabilization*

An Image Stabilizer is a motor inside the lens that moves the elements in a way that compensates for the movement created by camera shake. It is given different names by different manufacturers (Nikon, for example, calls it Vibration Reduction). It helps you take photos in low light, using lower ISO settings or smaller apertures, than would otherwise be possible. Lenses with Image Stabilization cost more than their non-stabilized counterparts, so think carefully about whether or not you need it before paying the extra money.

* Some manufacturers, like Sony and Olympus, build Image Stabilization into the camera body, not the lenses.

Next steps

Hopefully these points will help you decide which lens (or lenses) to buy next for your camera. The next step is to do some research. Read reviews on websites like Amazon, and reviews written by photographers you trust, to get a feel for the strengths and any weaknesses of a specific lens. If you can, try the lens out in a camera store, as it’s the only way you’ll get a feel for how it handles and how sharply it focuses. If you’re still stuck, find a good forum and ask other photographers what they think of lenses.

Further reading

Mastering lenses

My ebook Mastering Lenses shows you how to get the best from the lenses you already own. A comprehensive guide to exploring the creative potential of wide-angle, normal and telephoto lenses, it’s also the ultimate buying guide for photographers thinking about purchasing a new lens for their camera. Click the link to learn more or buy.

Here then are some tips on speeding up the process so you don’t have to wait so long.

Let’s start by looking at the most time consuming way you can import photos into Lightroom, then see how we can improve on that. Bear in mind everything is relative. If you have ten photos to import into Lightroom, then it isn’t going to take long even if you select the options that take the most time.

But if you need to import hundreds photos it’s a different story. That’s when it’s beneficial to look at ways to speed up the process.

The long way: Copy as DNG, Build 1:1 Previews, Build Smart Previews

This method gives you the best of all worlds, but the process is a long one if you need to import more than a few photos.

Lightroom copies the photos from your camera’s memory card to their designated place on your external hard drive, converting them to the DNG format as it does so and afterwards building full size Previews and Smart Previews.

The disadvantage of this workflow is that it takes more time to import your photos.

But the benefit is that it helps Lightroom work as fast as possible when you’re viewing photos in the Library module and developing them in the Develop module. The trade off is simple – importing takes longer but viewing and developing is faster.

• Generating 1:1 Previews means that you can zoom into your images whilst viewing them in the Library module without any delay. If you generate smaller Previews there’s a visible delay when you zoom. It may only be for a second or two, but it’s frustrating when you have lots of images to look at.

• DNG files are smaller (up to 20%), saving hard drive space. But more importantly using DNG makes Lightroom run faster (as long as you include Fast Load Data – the setting is found under the File Handling tab in Preferences, see below). According to Adobe, embedding Fast Load Data speeds up the viewing process by as much as eight times.

• Smart Previews enable you to process Raw files when you don’t have the hard drive that stores them connected to your computer. The Develop module is also faster when Lightroom uses Smart Previews.

• If you tick the Embed Original Raw File box under the File Handling settings Lightroom embeds a copy of the original Raw file in the DNG file. You can then extract it, if you want to, using Adobe’s free DNG converter software. However this makes the DNG file larger than the original Raw file.

• Some software doesn’t recognize the DNG format. If you use an application other then Lightroom, it’s a good idea to confirm whether it can open DNG files. This will help you decide whether to use the format.

Make a Second Copy to…

I left this option out of the above workflow because the backup copies made using the Make a Second Copy option are in the camera’s proprietary Raw format, not DNG. That means if you lose your DNG files through hard drive failure, you need to convert the backed up Raw files to DNG before Lightroom recognizes them. In my opinion it’s easier to backup the converted DNG files.

How To Save Time When Importing Photos Into Lightroom

Now it’s time to look at the ways you can reduce the amount of time it takes to import your photos into Lightroom. These are useful any time that you’re in a hurry to view or develop your photos.

Time saving tip #1: Don’t build 1:1 Previews

It takes Lightroom a long time to build 1:1 Previews. You can save a lot of time by selecting the Standard option instead.

Make sure you go to File Handling in Catalog Settings and set Standard Preview Size to Auto (see below). This ensures Lightroom doesn’t build larger Standard Previews than needed (saving time and hard drive space).

1:1 Previews are only used in the Library module (and not in the Develop module, where Lightroom builds a different set of previews) when you zoom into your photos to check fine detail or focusing. If, on your initial viewing, you don’t need to zoom in, then you don’t need 1:1 Previews.

Here’s an example. Let’s say you import 500 photos into Lightroom, building Standard Previews. While viewing the photos you decide that 100 of them are worth looking at further, but the other 400 are not. You can put those 100 photos into a new Collection and then build 1:1 Previews for them if you need them. That’s five times quicker than building 1:1 Previews for all 500 images.

Time saving tip #2: Don’t convert your Raw files to DNG

The benefits to using DNG have already being discussed, but if you’re not convinced, or don’t have the time to wait while Lightroom converts them, then don’t do it. Lightroom takes a long time to convert Raw files to DNG and you have to decide for yourself whether the benefits are worth it.

Time saving tip #3: Don’t generate Smart Previews

There’s no point in building Smart Previews if you don’t need them. And if you do, but it’s more urgent to view the imported photos on your monitor than it is to create Smart Previews, you can delay that task to another time.

You may be familiar with applications like Photo Mechanic that allow you to view your photos faster than Lightroom’s Library module. The reason Photo Mechanic is so fast is because it uses the JPEG preview file embedded into the Raw file by your camera. Now, Lightroom Classic CC gives you the same option. All you have to do is set Build Previews to Embedded & Sidecar under File Handling in the Import window.

You can tell Lightroom to build Standard Previews for photos with Embedded previews whenever your system is idle. Go to Preferences > General and tick the Replace embedded previews with standard previews during idle time box under Import Options (see below). It’s unticked by default.

Again, you can save time during import by using Embedded & Sidecar Previews to do an initial cull of your photos, then build 1:1 or Smart Previews for the ones that you want to look at more closely.

This is only for when you urgently need to free up a memory card, and want to get the photos on it saved and backed up as fast as possible.

You don’t even need Lightroom for this – just copy the photos from your memory card to your external hard drive, and make at least one backup copy to another drive. Then you can format the card, and import the photos into Lightroom later.

Time saving tip #6: Buy a new computer or install a solid state drive.

As with all software, Lightroom runs faster on newer computers with a higher specification than it does on older machines. If importing photos into Lightroom is too slow for you and you have a computer that’s older than five years it may be time to consider buying a new one. Another option, if your computer doesn’t have one, is to replace the hard drive with a solid state drive (SSD). Solid state drives are much faster and you’ll see a noticeable increase in your computer’s operating speed.

Further reading

The next steps

If you’d like to learn more about Lightroom I suggest you sign up to our Introducing Lightroom free email course (see below).

Mastering Lightroom: Book One – The Library Module

Our ebook Mastering Lightroom Book One: The Library Module is a complete guide to using Lightroom’s Library module to import, organise and search your photo files. You’ll learn how to tame your growing photo collection using Collections and Collection Sets, and how to get organized so you spend less time searching for photos and more time in the Develop module.

1. Lightroom Develop Presets

We’ll start with the most obvious and the type of preset you’re probably most familiar with – Develop Presets.

There are settings that you apply to almost every imported photo. You can save time by setting up presets to do these automatically.

The idea is to create a Develop Preset that gets you to a starting point from where you can decide exactly what you are going to do to it next.

For example, if you’re a landscape photographer you could create a preset that applies your favorite profile, plus lens corrections if your Raw files don’t have built-in profiles for Lightroom to use.

To get the lens corrections part of the preset to work properly check the Remove Chromatic Aberration and Enable Profile Corrections boxes, and set Setup to Auto. When you apply the preset to a photo taken with a different lens Lightroom will automatically use the correct profile.

If you’re a portrait photographer you could create a similar preset for your portraits. If you work in black and white a lot you could make one for your monochrome images.

During import, go to the Apply During Import panel and select the Develop Preset you want to use from the Develop Settings menu.

Just remember that Lightroom applies the selected Develop Preset to all the imported photos. As a result it works best when the subject matter is similar.

2. Lightroom Import Presets

You can take this a step further by creating an Import Preset that remembers all the settings you normally apply when you import photos into Lightroom.

If you tend to use the same settings every time you import photos into Lightroom then Import Presets may not be much practical use to you.

But some people change settings a lot. For example, two people such as a husband and wife using the same copy of Lightroom to import their photos with different settings, including Copyright info (more on this later in the article).

Or maybe you work in a studio with several photographers and each one needs a preset.

Perhaps you use Lightroom for several purposes. For example, if you use Lightroom to import Raw files from your camera’s memory card, and video from a smart phone, then it could make sense to create an Import Preset for each one so you don’t have to keep changing lots of settings.

How to make Import Presets

The Import Preset tool is easy to miss because it’s tucked away at the bottom of the Import window.

If you’ve never created an Import Preset before then Import Preset is set to none. Otherwise you’ll see the name of the last selected preset.

Start by setting the parameters in the right-hand panels. You also need to select the appropriate option from the top of the Import window (Copy as DNG, Copy, Move or Add).

Click on the menu Import Preset menu (the two arrow icon to the right of the name of the current preset) and select Save Current Settings as New Preset.

Give the preset a name and click Create.

The Import Preset remembers every setting you select, including folder where you ask Lightroom to save your imported photos. So it’s likely you have to change at least one setting when you import more photos. But it’s easier to use a preset and change a single setting than it is to go through the panels and change lots of them.

3. Lightroom Filename Templates

There are two places you can use Filename Templates – a kind of preset for renaming photo files – in Lightroom. The first is in the File Renaming panel in the Import window. If you like to change the filename of your photos on import you can create a template to save the settings.

This is most likely to be useful if more than one person uses your copy of Lightroom. Or perhaps, using the previous example of a photographer who imports both Raw files and video, you’d prefer a different naming structure for each type of file to make them easier to organize and search.

You can also change the names of photo files in the Library module by going to Library > Rename Photos (or use the F2 keyboard shortcut). The Filename Templates are available here too.

4. Lightroom Metadata Presets

It’s a good idea to add your name, contact details and a copyright notice to all your photos. This lets people know who your photos belong to and how to get in touch if they want to use them. It’s also helpful if you need to take action against somebody for copyright infringement.

You can set up a Metadata Preset that automatically adds Copyright information to your imported photos.

Go to the Metadata menu in the Apply During Import panel and select New. Lightroom opens the New Metadata Preset window, where you can add information such as your name and copyright details.

Start by giving the Preset a name and clicking the Check Filled button. Under IPTC Copyright, set Copyright Status to Copyrighted and fill in the other fields appropriately (my entries are shown below).

Under IPTC Creator, add your name, website, email address and any other appropriate details. I leave out my address here, partly because of identity theft risk, and partly because it will change the next time I move house. Note that Lightroom only adds checked metadata fields to your imported photos. Unchecked fields are not added.

You can also fill in any of the other fields if you wish to add more information to the metadata of your imported photos.

Click Done when you’re finished. Now, when you import photos all you have to do is select the Preset you just created from the Metadata menu.

If you prefer to add the year in the Copyright field don’t forget to change it on the first day of every new year!

You can also access Metadata Presets in the Library module’s Metadata panel. Just remember that Lightroom updates the metadata in the selected photo or photos when you select a Metadata preset.

Using Metadata Presets to update your personal details

If you tick a field in the Metadata Preset but leave it blank then Lightroom clears that field when you apply it to a photo. Is there a practical application of this? Yes there is. Let’s say you’ve added your address to all the photos in your Lightroom Catalog. Yet you’d like to clear those fields either because you’ve moved or because you’re concerned about identity theft.

Metadata Presets make it easy. Below you can see the important settings to add to your preset. I’ve left the address fields blank to clear them, but you can add your current address if you want to update the information rather than clear it.

Now go to the Catalog panel in the Library module and click on All Photographs. Go to Edit > Select All then go to the Metadata panel and select the Preset you just created. As you’ve selected more than one photo the Apply Metadata Preset window (see below) appears. Click the All Selected button.

Lightroom automatically updates all the fields included in the Metadata Preset. This may take some time if you selected a large number of photos.

5. Lightroom Export Presets

What do you do with your photos after you have developed them in Lightroom? There are lots of options, including uploading them to websites like Facebook or Flickr, posting them to your own personal website or blog, or sending them to a client.

There are so many options available in the Export window that it makes sense to use presets so that you don’t have to change the settings whenever you export photos.

To create an Export Preset start by selecting the photo or photos you want to export and click the Export button in the left-hand panels. You can also go to File > Export, or right-click on a photo and select Export > Export in any of Lightroom’s modules.

In the Export window, apply the appropriate settings for your photo. In some cases, you might want to use the same settings for a specific purpose but save photos in different folders. For example, when I export photos for a new website article I use the same size and resolution settings but save them in a new folder.

If that’s the case the best choice in Export Location is to set Export To to Choose folder later (useful for presets). This prompts Lightroom to ask you where you want to save the exported photos when you click the Export button.

But if the photos are going to be saved in the same folder every time, then select that folder here.

When you’re done, click the Add button.

Lightroom creates the Export Preset and adds it under the User Presets heading. Above these are more Export Presets that either came with Lightroom or that have been created by plugins.

6. Lightroom Filter Presets

In the Library module you can use Filter Presets to remember search criteria you use regularly.

For example, Lightroom has a built-in Filter Preset that finds Flagged photos.

To create a Filter Preset, start by setting search criteria in the Filter Bar. Then go to the Filter menu and select Save Current Settings as New Preset.

7. Lightroom Local Adjustment Presets

If you use local adjustments in the Develop module then you’re probably aware that the slider settings are the same for each of Lightroom’s three local adjustment tools – Graduated Filters, Radial Filters and the Adjustment Brush.

Local Adjustment Presets are located under the Effect menu. When you go to the Effect menu you can choose from a number of Lightroom’s own presets.

There may also be some that you have downloaded from other photographers. For example, many portrait retouching Develop Preset packs contain Adjustment Brush presets for retouching portraits.

You can create your own Local Adjustment Preset by Save Current Settings as New Preset from the Effects menu (it’s right at the bottom).

8. Lightroom FTP Presets

Finally (saving the most obscure preset for last) if you use the Web module, you can save the FTP settings required to upload web pages to your website as an FTP preset. To create a new preset go to the Upload Settings panel and select Edit from the FTP Server menu.

The Configure FTP File Transfer window appears. Fill in the FTP server settings and then select Save Current Settings as New Preset from the Preset menu.

Further reading

Here are the links to the Lightroom tutorials mentioned in the article.